Imperial West Research and Translation Hub, London, United Kingdom

Contracts exchanged for £200m complex

Construction draws near for Imperial West Research and Translation Hub in White City

Construction of a new 48,000 sq m Research and Translation Hub in London’s White City will commence next month, following an exchange of contracts between real estate development and investment company Voreda and Imperial College London.

The £200m complex has been designed by PLP Architecture and will comprise a 48,000 sq m Translation Hub and a 25,000 sq m Research Centre in west London.

The Hub will provide facilities in education, research and translation for 1,000 scientists and engineers, with a concentration on linking research and commerce to benefit society and the global economy.

The Translation Centre will be run by Imperial College Thinkspace in order to support the city’s burgeoning enterprise community, with 50 scalable units on offer to university and industry ventures.

This business centre has been funded in part by £73m secured by Voreda from Santander Corporate & Commercial Banking. Imperial College London was awarded £35m towards the construction of the neighbouring Research Centre.

Michael Faulkner, Director at PLP Architecture, commented: “The design meets a demanding brief which calls for a state of the art building to foster the exchange of ideas, and adapt to changing patterns of scientific enquiry, market demands and future tenants.

"We look forward to working with both Imperial College London and Voreda to deliver the future home of new and exciting employment opportunities, which will also play a critical role in the area’s regeneration.”

Laing O’Rourke has been appointed as Voreda’s construction delivery partner.